The present invention relates to a throttle-controlled hydraulic power brake employing the hydraulic energy produced by a pump for assisting user operation of the brake pump master cylinder and, consequently, braking of the vehicle via the brake pedal.
Known power brakes currently employed on motor vehicles are substantially either vacuum-operated or hydraulic. The vacuum-operated type features a pneumatic actuator operated by the intake vacuum of the vehicle engine, and, though relatively straightforward in design and cheap to manufacture, has the disadvantage of providing for only limited thrust. For this and other reasons involving size, vacuum-operated power brakes are used solely on automotive as opposed to commercial vehicles. The hydraulic type employs the energy of a pressurized fluid, usually oil, produced by a pump and fed via appropriate distributing means to a hydraulic actuator. Though more reliable and capable of producing a powerful thrust as required, as a function of the energy absorbed by the pump, known hydraulic power brakes present a number of drawbacks in terms of manufacturing cost, size and weight, in addition to being extremely complex in design.